My latest piece on #COVID19 is out @NatureHumBehav, part of @nature + OPEN ACCESS

When COVID-19 Meets Centralized, Personalized Power

The debate over whether autocracies or democracies are better at fighting epidemics is misguided.

Why?

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0872-3

Common logical fallacy is to insist that centralized power is either ALL-GOOD or ALL-BAD.

It is BOTH

For a balanced perspective, we must know when and how China's authoritarian regime failed & succeeded at responding to #COVIDー19

Deng Xiaoping knew well the dangers of autocracy

As I argued in @ForeignAffairs, he mitigated them by adding "democratic characteristics" to autocracy

But Xi came along & removed these checks, exposing the regime & ctry to the weaknesses of centralized power

Then came #COVID19

Not all dictatorships are alike, just as not all democracies are alike

Even within PROC's 70 year history, it has experienced several different TYPES of dictatorships

Mao: Personalist dictatorship

Deng: Party-based leadership with checks

Xi: Swung back to Mao

Under Xi, the result is tightened control on civil society + a paralyzed bureaucracy afraid to take initiative or risks

Setting the stage for calamity to follow

Even though no one - especially Xi himself - wanted a disaster

Amid deep global anxiety, narratives about #COVID19
pandemic are becoming politicized and reduced to over-simplistic memes

Either

"China has scored a total victory!"

Or

"It's all China's fault!"

This is dangerous. We need a balanced perspective more than ever.

And most importantly, stop conflating Xi's administration with #China, or even with the CCP (there are dissenters within the party and government)

Just as Trump's administration ≠ USA

Only politicians are at war

Ordinary people do not want war

On a final nerdy note

Thank you to @NatureHumBehav editor Charlotte Payne for an shepherding an efficient peer review, fastest I've ever had, and with constructive comments

May every review process be like this

On top of world peace